everyone's into pork chops today - by coincidence yesterday I did my chops&kraut standard but substituted pork tenderloin. trimmed out the tenderloin, split it in half, then portioned. the standard dish can be tricky if you don't wind up with juicy/tender pork chops - the tenderloin was super! cut it with a fork....

but here's the original, don't think I posted it here....

ZwiebelShroomChops

it's hard to think that this is an "original" dish - somebody likely did this a thousand years ago. but I've been working the recipe/technique since the mid 1980's - and it one of those things: When was the last time anyone requested a heavy on the sauerkraut dish?.....

there's nothing particularly difficult - but this is a time consuming prep - and rushing it can lead to burnt not-so-good-stuff. allow two hrs prep + 1.5-2 hrs bake. it reheats extremely well; more than once I've intentionally done it "a day ahead" for overnight-in-the-fridge flavor development....

recipe for 2-3 chops.

de-package, salt & pepper the chops, allow to stand at room temp for remainder of prep.
use thick chops - thin ones over cook.
use bone-in for max flavor.
(braising makes for a no-problem on-the-bone situation; the meat pulls cleanly away with a fork.)

drain one pound package of sauerkraut; discard juice.

dice and fry crips 4 strips of bacon; drain, set aside;

save an olive tree and use the bacon drippings to:
sweat down large onion sliced in half-circles.
add 4-6 med/large sliced mushrooms; cremeni is my favorite for the earthy flavor.
add a bit of (olice oil) as needed; the mushrooms soak up the oil.....
lightly salt the onions to draw out the moisture; lightly salt the mushrooms for same reason.
a small dollop of balsamic vinegar is good; alternately dry/wet mustard, bit of cayenne - or dash of fresh horseraddish if you like heat.

when onions&mushrooms are cooked down and nicely browned, add back bacon bits, heat through, set aside.

using the remaining bacon drippings, and olive oil as needed, brown the pork chops boths sides. 2-2.5 minutes per side in a hot pan. this is not to cook them through - this is a get some color and "braun jummies" on the chops....

layer some sauerkraut on the bottom of the baking dish
layer on the pork chops